Drake and Kendrick Lamar are used to being pitted against each other for their rap supremacy, not chart struggles.
Just weeks after Kendrick’s “We Cry Together” set a new record for suffering the biggest single-week drop in Billboard Hot 100 history (for a song that remained on the chart), his longtime rap rival has equaled the not-so-flattering feat.
As Chart Data pointed out on Wednesday (July 6), Drake’s “Texts Go Green” — track number three on his latest album Honestly, Nevermind — has fallen 81 spots on the Billboard Hot 100. The song slid to No. 94 after debuting at No. 13 last week.
Drake's "Texts Go Green" ties Kendrick Lamar and Taylour Paige's "We Cry Together" for the biggest single week downward movement in Hot 100 history (81 spots).
— chart data (@chartdata) July 6, 2022
“We Cry Together,” the break-up-to-make-up track co-starring actress Taylour Paige from Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers LP, suffered a similar fate in June when it fell from No. 16 to No. 97 on the chart.
While “We Cry Together”‘s slump can be easily explained by its argumentative nature, making it a challenging listen that doesn’t slot comfortably into most playlists or settings, “Text Go Green”‘s steep descent is a little more mystifying.
As of press time, the song has racked up over 20.5 million global streams on Spotify, per Kworb, in addition to nearly 2.5 million plays on Drake’s official YouTube channel.
Despite “Text Go Green”‘s drop-off, Honestly, Nevermind continues to extend Drake’s dominance on the Billboard charts. The house-influenced album currently sits at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 after debuting atop the chart with over 200,000 first-week sales last month. It also broke Apple Music’s single-day streams record for a dance album.
Meanwhile, the 6 God has a total of five entries on the Hot 100 with the 21 Savage-assisted “Jimmy Cooks” (No. 5), “Sticky” (No. 17), “Massive” (No. 44), “Falling Back” (No. 64) and the aforementioned “Texts Go Green.” “Jimmy Cooks” debuted at No. 1 on the chart last week, earning Drake his 11th chart-topping single.
As fans continue to digest the somewhat divisive nightclub-inspired sound of Honestly, Nevermind, it appears Drake is already plotting his return to rap. “I got another Scary Hours pack coming too in a little bit,” he announced on his SiriusXM radio show Table For One last month. “I’ma slap some headtops off with this Scary Hours pack.”
[via]
